YouTube adds 60fps playback, fan funding for video creators

YouTube is by far and away the most popular video sharing platform out there, but uploading videos does come with a few accepted downsides. You’ll get HD video, sure, but it’s going to be compressed and the frame rate won’t match the original. But Google is changing this, and in the process making watching games videos much more enjoyable and profitable for creators.

Several new features have been announced on the YouTube Creator Blog, with the key one being the ability to watch video footage playback at either 48fps or even 60fps. That’s important when you consider many PS4 and Xbox One titles are aiming for 60fps gameplay. Developers would love if you could watch gameplay trailers running at actual speed.

Google has also decided to better support content creators with the introduction of fan funding. Soon you’ll be able to pledge money in much the same way as Patreon or Kickstarter works, but for a YouTube channel of your choosing.

Other features of note include a new Creator Studio allowing you to see analytics and manage videos, the audio library now has sound effects you can drop in to a video, and fans of videos can submit their own subtitles for them, potentially improving upon YouTube’s automatic translation attempts.

Some of these features have been rolled out to a select few channels in order to test them, and the videos embedded above are already running at 60fps. Google hasn’t given firm launch dates beyond saying they’ll appear “in the coming months.” So expect 60fps gameplay videos before the holidays, and the potential for a massive surge in game playthrough videos now creators can get direct funding without any extra work on their part.